The Business Side of Standard Deviation

The Business Side of Standard Deviation

You are a financial analyst for a Fortune 500 company and you must present an analysis of the financial data to the executives.

My fortune 500 company is: UnitedHealth Group http://beta.fortune.com/fortune500/unitedhealth-gr…

Select a publicly traded company in the same industry as the company you work for or one that you would like to work.

Locate the company’s annual report and any other available data (e.g. units manufactured, revenue, etc.) that is available for the last 5 years.

Use one of the company’s historical data sets to calculate the standard deviation of the selected data for the last 5 years.

Discuss what the standard deviation means.

Analyze data using variance and standard deviation.

Create a 10-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation including detailed speaker notes in which you include the following:

  • Graph the company’s selected financial data.
  • Explain the role of standard deviation in financial analysis.
  • Explain any other uses for standard deviation in a business setting

Individual Assignment: The Business Side of Standard Deviation

Purpose of Assignment

Standard deviation is an important concept that can be used in business to analyze financial data. The Week 3 individual assignment provides students the chance to look at the historical financial data of a real world company and find out how to apply statistical concepts to business uses.

Grading Guide

Content

Met

Partially Met

Not Met

Comments:

The student based their assignment on a publicly traded company and their financial data for the last 5 years.

The student discussed the meaning of standard deviation.

The student correctly analyzed the data using variance and standard deviation.

The student correctly graphed the company’s financial data.

The student explained the role of standard deviation in a financial analysis.

The student explained the other possible uses for standard deviation in a business setting.

The presentation consists of 10 slides and is appropriate for the audience.

The presentation includes relevant media and visual aids that are consistent with the content.

Total Available

Total Earned

X

X/X

Presentation Guidelines

Met

Partially Met

Not Met

Comments:

The presentation uses a proper layout with effective headings, fonts, styles, font sizes, and white spaces.

The presentation recognizes intellectual property using in-text citations and a reference slide.

The presentation includes an introduction and conclusion which previews and reviews major points.

The presentation includes major points that are stated clearly, organized logically, and supported by specific details, examples, or analysis.

The presentation follows proper rules of grammar and usage including spelling and punctuation.

Total Available

Total Earned

X

X/X

Assignment Total

#

X

X/X